Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the 1999-00 Embry-Riddle Men's Basketball National Championship

At the start of the 1999-00 academic year, Embry-Riddle Athletics was entering its 12th season of existence. In addition to entering his 11th season as the head coach for the men's basketball team, Steve Ridder was also the Director of Athletics and in his 10-year tenure in that role, he oversaw the growth of the program from five sports to nine in 1999-00, and had announced the addition of a 10th sport program, women's golf, scheduled to start in 2000-01.

Often referred as a "Founding Father" of the ERAU Athletics program, Ridder is who the coaches of the other sports looked to when trying to build teams and establish their programs' culture. So, it's no surprise that the success of the men's basketball team in 1999-00 had a lasting impact on the coaches who were here at the time.

Some of those coaches shared their thoughts on what the national tournament run meant to them.

Maria Lopez - Head Coach Women's Golf (2000-present)

"I was hired November of 1999, and women's golf began the season of 2000-2001, a time I am immensely grateful for. I was appreciative of the heritage and possibilities at ERAU. My whole life I had watched the institution grow. A dear friend from college, Ellen Bible, started the volleyball program and my parents were media guide sponsors. So the excitement for me was electric. 

"All the sports were growing and thriving, and I wanted to create something that would honor my colleagues and family. The mission statement of the Athletic Department at the time matched identically to my resume's objective. It was destiny and I was more than home. I went to every home athletic event I could attend. I sat in on as many practices as I could, every coach being welcoming. 

"The excitement and growth of the other sports was our source of pride and motivation. Our new players were inspired by the other teams and driven to be excellent in honor of them. Throughout all of my recruiting in 99-00 the academic and athletic excellence of our department was a source of pride for our prospects. 

"I was at every home game in the rafters cheering on our team. It was deeply personal for me and was my dream job, in my hometown. To be at Houligan's to watch the game was surreal and inspirational. The 2000 basketball team was the springboard and motivation for women's golf. We are forever indebted to Coach Ridder and that team. They were THE example of selflessness, hard work, persistence, humility, character, excellence and grit. Our players took great pride in striving to be "The Package", in excelling on the course and in the classroom. Every player that has ever competed for women's golf has their college degree and was a part of growing a foundation that Coach Ridder and the men's basketball program propelled. We are forever proud and they are forever Eagles to us."

From its first season in 2001 all the way to 2014, the women's golf team never finished outside the top three teams in The Sun Conference. Lopez also guided the Eagles to 14 consecutive NAIA National Championship appearances, including two national runner-up finishes and 10 top-five finishes on the national stage.

Dan Blank, Head Coach, Women's Soccer (1998-2006)

"I don't remember much about the actual run, other than watching the final at a restaurant in Ormond Beach, and greeting the team outside the ICI Center upon its return. But I remember being very excited for the team, and even more excited about the message it would send to all of our athletic programs."

"Milestone achievements are contagious. They forge belief. Runners had been trying to break the four-minute mile mark for seventy years. Many experts decided it was impossible. Then British runner Roger Bannister broke it in 1954. Six weeks later, Bannister's time was bested by an Australian runner. Then a year later, three runners broke the four-minute mile in the same race! Now close to 1500 runners have broken the mark including ten American high schoolers. Once everyone saw that is was possible, it became possible. That was the message.

"Coaching a team that was in its formative years, basketball's title run helped me sell the idea that our women's soccer program could be nationally competitive. And I'm sure it helped all of our athletes internalize the idea that national championships were a genuine possibility at Embry-Riddle. And when you internalize that, it puts a grander sense of purpose on the work you're putting in, even if you don't recognize it on a conscious level. It gives you a better why, and there's no doubt in my mind, that makes a difference."

The first coach in ERAU Women's Soccer history, Blank led his team to the program's first conference and regional titles in 2001. The Eagles won three more conference and two more regular season titles and went to the national tournament three times during his tenure.

Dave Gregson, Head Coach, Men's Soccer (1994-present)

"I must say the campus and community attitude towards sports was vastly different back then. We only had a handful of sports and the connection between campus, the supporters and the teams was wonderfully personal.

"We were all still building the program at that point and it felt like the whole community was invested in seeing one of our teams reach the pinnacle of achievement at their level. It felt like basketball was the shining light leading the way forward for all our athletes; showing that with the right investment, infrastructure and people we could all really create a very positive, successful culture for all our teams; one that anybody could get behind because it was genuine and real."

Gregson's men's soccer program dominated Florida Sun Conference play from 1999-2009 winning eight conference and seven regional titles during that stretch. He also guided ERAU Men's Soccer to nine NAIA national tournament appearances.

The men's basketball team's national title marked the start of a new era of success for the Athletics program. In 1999-00, the ERAU Athletics won the All-Sports Trophy (now the Commissioner's Cup), awarded to the best overall program in the league based on athletic performances, for the first time. That season also marked the first time that ERAU student-athletes posted a cumulative grade point average that was higher than the rest of the Embry-Riddle student body. The Eagles held on to the top spot in the league for the remainder of their time in the NAIA, and 2018-19 marked the 20th straight year that the student-athlete GPA exceeded that of the rest of the Embry-Riddle population.